View Full Version : Food in the tent
Judging from the last post here some hikers have said they got tired of hanging a bear bag because of the hassle and decided to just sleep with their food. It's clear that sleeping with food probably means no open containers of tuna or beef jerky.
So if you have slept with food please share what precautions you take.
If you would never sleep with food post that too. But apparently there is no unanimous protocol as far as what to do with food during sleep.
Finally, it sure would be nice if the rangers or whoever investigates bear activity after incidents would be transparent and share what happened. I believe there was at least one incident this year of a bear biting someone in a tent. I'm not aware of where or what official report may have been made.
Sarcasm the elf
10-21-2016, 16:35
The post below was stolen (with permission) from triple crowner "Jester" a couple of years ago, it's one of the better explanations I have read.
"Sleep with my food
I sleep with my food. There. I said it.
I’ve slept with my food in my tent while hiking in twenty-two different states, including ones that have Grizzlies. When legally required, I’ve used bear canisters (Kings Canyon, Yosemite) and hung food (Yellowstone). I’ve used bear boxes when they’ve been provided. But otherwise, I sleep with my food. And so do a lot of other people.
Why? Simply put, I believe it to be the best strategy for protecting bears.
This statement is probably viewed incredulously by people who have been told over and over again by official agencies that sleeping with your food is a terrible idea, and that people who do it are lazy, irresponsible, and part of the problem. But stick with me, and I’ll explain my line of thinking.
I believe that one of the reasons that official sites post the proper hanging of food as a best practice doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the efficacy of hanging food as a deterrent versus other methods of food storage. I think it has more to do with the safety of the hiker, and the potential liability involved in the event of an attack rather than the result of any studies.
Which is to say, keeping your food in your tent could be 1,000 times more likely to prevent a bear from getting your food, and authorities would still never suggest it due to the relative potential bad outcome should a bear invade a tent, regardless of how unlikely that might be statistically. So if sleeping with your food decreases the chances of a bear getting it by a great margin, but increases only slightly the chance of you having an encounter with a bear, it won’t be recommended.
I have often thought that hanging food isn’t necessarily about keeping food away from bears, but rather keeping bears away from people while they attempt to get people’s food. The argument would say something to the effect of, “well, the bear got my food, but at least I’m okay.” People who hang food aren’t terrified that a bear might get their food if they slept with it, but rather of what a bear might do to them while it was getting their food if they slept with it.
Much of what we do regarding bears and food is, as with water treatment, faith-based. If you hang food with success you are convinced that hanging food is why a bear didn’t get your food, whether there is a bear in the area or not. If you sleep with your food, and are never attacked, you believe that sleeping with your food is a successful strategy. When a bear does get food that is hung, the assumption on the part of those who hang food is that the food was improperly hung. Why? Because they have faith that a bear cannot get to properly hung food -- even though there are bears that have proven that they can learn to defeat just about any unattended system of protecting food (including bear canisters).
As for bears invading tents, it’s incredibly rare, despite the fact that at some point in a trip everything you own probably smells like food. On the very rare occasions that it does happen the first question anyone asks is, “did the hiker have food in their tent?” Why? Because people like to find a cause that tells then that they are relatively safe from this kind of thing, so that they can tell themselves that they don’t have to be afraid. “He had food in his tent and was attacked, I do not have food in my tent and therefore won’t be attacked.” But even if you don’t have food in your tent, you still probably smell like food. You’ve spilled it on your clothing, you’ve stored it (and trash) in your backpack, you’ve got some on your hands, your beard, your mouth. It’s not like you’re taking a shower every day. Putting all “smellables” in a bag doesn’t mean your tent and its contents don’t smell like food. Ultimately, actually having food in your tent might not make it smell any more like food than not having it in your tent.
But there’s not much you can do about that, right? So you do what you can to minimize bad encounters. And if your food doesn’t get taken and you remain unharmed, then whatever you’ve done worked (at least in your mind). Even if there were never any bears near you.
Are people who sleep with their food irresponsible and lazy? Undoubtedly some are. And then there are others who believe that it’s a better way of dealing with food. Do I have any statistical evidence to back up my belief that bears recognize possession as ownership, and that they are more likely to go after hung, non-attended food rather than expend the energy to attack another animal to take its food? Nope. But then again, people who believe hanging is the best strategy don’t have any statistical analysis to back up their belief, either. Anecdotally, I can look at the situation on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and note that the bear or bears who get hikers’ food are getting it exclusively from bear hangs. Is the food improperly hung? Probably, but not necessarily. Does it occur to any of those hikers to sue the ATC or NPS or any other agency for suggesting that hanging food is the best method? Of course not.
On the other hand, you can imagine how quickly someone (or their family) would engage a lawyer if ATC suggested sleeping with food and a bear invaded a tent, regardless of how unlikely a scenario that might be, particularly if that hiker sustained injuries or was killed.
I sleep with my food. Should you? That’s really up to you. If having food in your tent is going to keep you awake all night, probably not. In fact, I’ve hung food when I’ve been around other hikers who were so worried about me not doing so that it seemed a kindness to hang my food so they could get some sleep.
I’m not suggesting what anyone else should or shouldn’t do. I’m explaining my reasoning for what I do, and the fact that it isn’t as lazy or irresponsibe as you might have been led to believe.
I sleep with my food because I think it’s safer for the bears."
Another Kevin
10-21-2016, 16:53
Jester's post that Elf reused is near the mark.
To be sure, I comply with the law, so where the law says I have to hang, I hang, and where the law says I have to use a bear can, I hump a bear can.
Otherwise, the important rule is: NEVER LEAVE FOOD UNATTENDED, EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES. Always have it, if not within reach, within a few steps. Otherwise, have it securely stored. Hang it, have it in a canister, or have it in a bear box at a campsite.
'Never leave food unattended' means NEVER. If you're sleeping with food, when you get up to pee in the night, bring it with you. If you decide to strip down and plunge into that inviting lake, hang your pack, or at least your bear bag, or set out your canister. You don't want to come back from your swim or from the process of elimination to find the local wildlife rifling your pack, and they can move in amazingly fast.
I've seen bears, raccoons, porkies and turkey vultures raiding picnic tables at campgrounds while the picnickers were out tossing a frisbee or something. And I've heard numerous tales of woe from Adirondack travelers. (A common style in the Adirondacks is to hike in with heavy gear, make a base camp somewhere, and bag a peak or three with a light day pack. That's asking for trouble, which is why canisters are now required of all campers there.)
Unless I'm arriving at a campsite in darkness, hanging my food is usually less hassle than having to take my food, toiletries and garbage with me whenever I have to leave the campsite. But if I'm night-hiking in, and setting up a good hang is going to be a challenge, sometimes my food is my pillow instead.
PaulWorksHard
10-21-2016, 18:29
If you would never sleep with food post that too. But apparently there is no unanimous protocol as far as what to do with food during sleep.
The parks service, ATC, and other organizations have the same protocol - hang your food, always. They are unanimous in this. People disagree with this protocol. If the standard for unanimous is that every person agrees, then there are no unanimous protocols for anything at all.
, it sure would be nice if the rangers or whoever investigates bear activity after incidents would be transparent and share what happened. I believe there was at least one incident this year of a bear biting someone in a tent. I'm not aware of where or what official report may have been made.
Someone was bit at Spence field shelter in the smokies around May 10. It was reported in the paper and they were completely transparent about it at GSMNP. You do have to use Google to find this. https://peachpeak.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/first-blog-post/ . Not noted in this first person account is that the rangers afterward claimed it was because Eric used a cocoa butter sunscreen lotion which attracted the bear.
I don't remember exactly where, but within 50 miles north of Daleville on the AT I came across a ridge runner who told me that at a nearby shelter bears were actually chasing people out of their tents. (Regardless of if they hung their food). I recall he told me they found and killed that bear.
I think that in GSMNP and a few other select places where bears unfortunately think PEOPLE = FOOD, it may not matter what you do. It's a crapshoot and most people are lucky. Occasionally someone is not. See article above. Personally, I always hang my food, preferably 20-25 feet high. But, I have hung my food on occasion where a bear would trip over my tent getting to the bag. I have seen bears climb trees very easily when motivated to do so.
Lone Wolf
10-21-2016, 18:49
Judging from the last post here some hikers have said they got tired of hanging a bear bag because of the hassle and decided to just sleep with their food. It's clear that sleeping with food probably means no open containers of tuna or beef jerky.
So if you have slept with food please share what precautions you take.
If you would never sleep with food post that too. But apparently there is no unanimous protocol as far as what to do with food during sleep.
Finally, it sure would be nice if the rangers or whoever investigates bear activity after incidents would be transparent and share what happened. I believe there was at least one incident this year of a bear biting someone in a tent. I'm not aware of where or what official report may have been made.
i always sleep with my chow. i've only hung food in shelters to protect from mice
i always sleep with my chow. i've only hung food in shelters to protect from mice
I found that mice chewing holes in my tent was worse than mice chewing holes in my food bag. I use an Ursack now. Its hung outside. Having a mouse scurry up my back to get to the food bag at my head was enough to decide that having my food and sleep disrupted was not worth the crums they leave behind.
bears? What bears?
cmoulder
10-21-2016, 20:10
I had not read those comments from Jester before, but I have for a long time felt similarly and have also kept food in my tent because I had many problems with chipmunks, flying squirrels and pine martens in the Catskills and the Daks. I do try to minimize the 'olfactory footprint' (smellprint? lol) by using bags with far less permeability than ziplocs, such as used cereal bags, 'gourmet' chip snack bags, beef jerky bags, etc.
The last animal that tried to get food from me was, in fact, the little bastard pictured below — I chased him and got it back... big bag of gorp... and he came back to try again! Opalescent Creek in the Daks, IIRC.
36635
Another Kevin
10-21-2016, 20:23
The last animal that tried to get food from me was, in fact, the little bastard pictured below — I chased him and got it back... big bag of gorp... and he came back to try again! Opalescent Creek in the Daks, IIRC.
The worst part of hiking in Eastern High Peaks is the wildlife, who are accustomed to raiding base camps. That's why you need a canister there.
Slosteppin
10-21-2016, 20:37
I do two things to keep bars away from myself and my food. First, I always hang my food at least 100 feet from my tent or hammock. Second, I try NOT to camp in campgrounds or where others often camp. These habits come from early reading, observation and talking with campground managers and hosts. I have read and observed that bears go back to places where they found food - such as bird feeders in my backyard. I've also had campground managers tell me that bears frequently check their dumpsters.
The first thing I do when setting up camp is hang my food high in a tree.
Sarcasm the elf
10-21-2016, 20:49
The worst part of hiking in Eastern High Peaks is the wildlife, who are accustomed to raiding base camps. That's why you need a canister there.
Trailgroove has a bear canister giveaway right now that I signed up for. Sadly it is for a bear vault and the only place I would need a canister is the high peaks region. :(Oh well...
Sarcasm the elf
10-21-2016, 20:56
i always sleep with my chow. i've only hung food in shelters to protect from mice
You've been in shelters? :rolleyes:
I had my first ever animal damage this year in VT. Slept in a shelter against my better judgement, forgot to unzip all my pack pocket and check them. Turns out I had a Payday wrapped in my hip belt pocket that I had forgotten about. A mouse chewed it's way into it within an hour of me falling asleep.
On a side note, did you know that if you back-fist a hanging pack while half asleep the force can send a mouse flying about 20 feet? It wasn't totally intentional, since I only wanted to scare the mouse into running away, but man did it work.
Greenlight
10-21-2016, 21:03
I'm in Indiana and I grew up in Indiana. I was in Scouting from ages 11 to 18 and went on many camping trips and hikes. I've also hiked and camped some recently. When I was a kid, we just stored our food in our packs which were stored in a gear pile, and we didn't have to worry much about anything but raccoons. We'd almost always keep a fire going and appoint a "fire guard" - it was just fun so we did it, so the Scout who stayed awake and tended the fire kept critters at bay. As an adult, I've never kept food in my tent (hammock). On the AT, it went up a bear line.
I worked as a ranger in the South San Juan Mtns in CO for 4 summers. I never once hung my food. I slept in a Megamid (like a tarp tent with no floor), and when the weather was lousy, I cooked in it. I had to slap away the occasional rodent at night, but the only time I ever had a bear bother me was when I left an unwashed cooking pot on a boulder 30 feet or so from the tent, and even then, it only went for the pot. I do hang my food in Grizzly country in Montana, and cook far from my tent, but I have no evidence that I am any the safer for it. The cases we have had here of bears dragging people from tents and mauling them don't appear to be linked to food, except one case a couple of years ago where some car campers set up in the dark at a site which, they discovered the next morning, was littered with food and garbage. In that case a black bear chomped a guy's arm. But in general, I agree that by day 3 or 4 of a hike, you, your clothes and your pack all stink of food as much as your food bag does.
cmoulder
10-21-2016, 21:24
The worst part of hiking in Eastern High Peaks is the wildlife, who are accustomed to raiding base camps. That's why you need a canister there.
They're not required after Nov 30, but a bear can is clearly a good idea year 'round there for other critters.
PS, the pine marten pictured above got the gorp from my pack during a dayhike by unzipping a side accessory pocket.
kolokolo
10-21-2016, 22:30
Judging from the last post here some hikers have said they got tired of hanging a bear bag because of the hassle and decided to just sleep with their food. It's clear that sleeping with food probably means no open containers of tuna or beef jerky.
So if you have slept with food please share what precautions you take.
If you would never sleep with food post that too. But apparently there is no unanimous protocol as far as what to do with food during sleep.
Finally, it sure would be nice if the rangers or whoever investigates bear activity after incidents would be transparent and share what happened. I believe there was at least one incident this year of a bear biting someone in a tent. I'm not aware of where or what official report may have been made.
To the OP: Report on bear attack last Spring at Spence Field Shelter:http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/appalachian-trail-hiker-describes-agonizing-bear-attack1/216960737
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MuddyWaters
10-21-2016, 22:32
So if you have slept with food please share what precautions you take.
Well, if there was a known problem bear in area I might think twice.
I place it in my shelter so it's not reachable by an larcenous ursine without encountering me. I e. Don't stick it under vestibule, keep it next to you away from tent opening.
Bears will go after food if they think they can get it without encountering you. Even a few feet away.
jimmyjam
10-21-2016, 22:43
Just met a guy in the Smokys a few days ago who had a bear smash his tent while he was in it. He said it would be the last time he kept food in his tent.
Sarcasm the elf
10-21-2016, 23:01
Just met a guy in the Smokys a few days ago who had a bear smash his tent while he was in it. He said it would be the last time he kept food in his tent.
I'm all for sleeping with my food in areas that don't have bear problems, but why the heck would you do it in or near the smokies?
MuddyWaters
10-21-2016, 23:33
I'm all for sleeping with my food in areas that don't have bear problems, but why the heck would you do it in or near the smokies?
National parks have most of the problem bears.
Another Kevin
10-21-2016, 23:59
They're not required after Nov 30, but a bear can is clearly a good idea year 'round there for other critters.
PS, the pine marten pictured above got the gorp from my pack during a dayhike by unzipping a side accessory pocket.
Great picture, by the way! I envy you the sighting. Martens (and other mustelids, such as mink and fishers) are usually pretty shy creatures.
...Bears will go after food if they think they can get it without encountering you. Even a few feet away.
About 10 years ago we were eating dinner at the highly used campsite below Gregory Bald on what was the old AT before it was rerouted. While eating, my daughter pointed out a large male bear which had entered our camp and was near the tent where she had left the food bag, only about 50' away. I "calmly" walked past the bear, within about 10' I would guess, picked up the food bag and carried it back to where we were sitting.
That bear looked almost comical as he watched me walk away with his targeted dinner. After a couple of minutes, he lost interest and wandered off to roll some logs and look for grubs. We watched him for about an hour before he left the area.
I'm not saying there aren't dangerous bears, nor am I saying my actions that day were well thought out, but in my experience, the hysteria over black bear encounters is way overblown. We've had close encounters many times and only once was I ever nervous about it. That bear actually moved toward my son and me in a manner I viewed as possibly predatory while we stood under Shuckstack tower. But when we left and hiked back down to the AT, he didn't follow, so even that was a non-event in reality.
Jester nailed it. In addition I believe avoiding cooking in camp will also help avoid late night wildlife encounters as will avoiding over used sites. I find it interesting that most of the serial long distance hikers that I know sleep with their food.
Kc Fiedler
10-22-2016, 08:27
I hang my food every time. PCT method. End of story.
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garlic08
10-22-2016, 08:44
One hiker I met on my PCT thru told me a bear removed his food bag from under his head while he was sleeping on it, in So Cal. That was an outlier incident, but it does happen. If he'd been in a tent, he probably would have been fine, but that story molded my beliefs in food storage.
I'll just echo what others have said, NEVER turn your back on your food, and hanging it securely is often the best way to deal with it. For me, it wasn't a pine marten but an ermine that caused the most damage, nearly destroying my pack in a few minutes while I was twenty feet away getting water at a creek near Crestone Needle in Colorado. Second most was a couple of ravens on a beach in Washington State, with me just a few paces away watching a sunset. I finally learned to put a line in a tree, every time. It's not very hard. If there are no trees, the food stays under my supervision at all times. Sometimes that means sleeping with it.
Once on the AT, and again a few weeks ago in Canada, a mouse nibbled a small hole in my tortillas while the bag was at my side. Some of those little guys are pretty fearless when it comes to an easy meal.
I sleep with my food and 99% of the time I camp in a random place a ways off the trail where my shelter will fit.
evyck da fleet
10-23-2016, 10:41
I sleep with my food unless there are bear poles, bins etc provided or I'm required to carry a canister. Like Jester, I will occasionally hang as a consideration to others. But on the AT where most shelters have food hung from the shelters mouse hangs, I'm not worried about a bear coming after the food in my tent. Its usually inside my pack inside my smelly shirt from that day.
I hung my food at the beginning of my thru but after waking up several times to find that I had left a candy bar wrapper, package of crackers or drink mix which I had forgotten about in my rain gear, I realized there's always going to be a trace scent on what's in my tent. If I do encounter a bear its most likely due to past hiker behavior at that site and a bear activity sign will usually be posted. So whether I do everything by the book or not, there is a slim chance of an encounter either way.
Puddlefish
10-23-2016, 12:31
Someone mentioned earlier it's about not leaving the food unattended, ever. Just because one person has good habits and can sleep with their food, doesn't mean it's a good idea for you, unless you have the exact same rigorous habits that they have. Location also matters.
A few nights, I did sleep with the food in my tent, because I was in the middle of a field, surrounded by short trees, far away from a shelter. Very little chance of habituated mice/small animals/bears being around.
Would I do so, within a quarter mile of a shelter in the Smokies, where there hundreds of animals have already learned that backpacks, bags and tents equal easy food? Nope! I also don't want to be the idiot that gets a bear killed because it's learned to associate people with free food because of my sloppy habits.
Hanging a proper bear bag is really simple, and part of the fun and challenge of backpacking. Do so when you're able to, it costs you nothing and can be rewarding. It's also kind of a fun spectator sport. You can be known as the bear pinata idiot, or the one who nails it on the first try.
I only hang my food if there are bear cables or reports of bear activity in the area. That's what I see most people doing. BTW, bear cables are a great place to go shopping if you are running low on supplies.
coach lou
10-23-2016, 20:42
You've been in shelters? :rolleyes:
I had my first ever animal damage this year in VT. Slept in a shelter against my better judgement, forgot to unzip all my pack pocket and check them. Turns out I had a Payday wrapped in my hip belt pocket that I had forgotten about. A mouse chewed it's way into it within an hour of me falling asleep.
On a side note, did you know that if you back-fist a hanging pack while half asleep the force can send a mouse flying about 20 feet? It wasn't totally intentional, since I only wanted to scare the mouse into running away, but man did it work.
I hung my bag in Congdon shelter, not ten minutes later I heard them on my bag. I shined a light on them, they were laughing at me! I grabbed my pole and smacked the bag, one fell, one scurried up the cord and the one I hit bounced off the wall and ran out the door. That night was my first food bag pillow............some of you may remember a flatten piece of cheesecake!
Sarcasm the elf
10-23-2016, 20:45
I hung my bag in Congdon shelter, not ten minutes later I heard them on my bag. I shined a light on them, they were laughing at me! I grabbed my pole and smacked the bag, one fell, one scurried up the cord and the one I hit bounced off the wall and ran out the door. That night was my first food bag pillow............some of you may remember a flatten piece of cheesecake!
And here I thought you just sat on that cheesecake by accident. :banana
dudeijuststarted
10-23-2016, 20:48
It's clear that sleeping with food probably means no open containers of tuna or beef jerky.
I could not fall asleep in the vicinity of an open container of tuna! In other news, I hang my food and have not been attacked by a bear in my sleep, so I'm going with that 100% success rate.
jj dont play
10-23-2016, 21:22
I'm one of those that got lazy and slept with Food for pretty much all of Maine. I had food in Zpacks bear bag, then in trash compactor bag, then stuff in packed, closed up my pack and put it by my feet in tent. I felt the couple layers would keep the smell down, but did have a squirrel trying to get in my tent ALL night in the HMW. Pretty sure he smelt food, kept me up all night but other than that I lived.
swjohnsey
10-23-2016, 21:36
I always slept with my food. I mostly camped away from shelter and never cooked where I camped.
SouthMark
10-24-2016, 08:07
Have been sleeping with my food since my first AT hike in 1978. I have never even been lucky enough to see a bear.
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I always sleep with my food. I use OP saks inside my cuben fiber food bag. Never had a problem.
BTW, bear cables are a great place to go shopping if you are running low on supplies.
And as a bonus, after you remove the food you want from the bags hanging up there, there's enough space to leave your trash. So it's a win-win.
Another Kevin
10-24-2016, 17:57
Someone mentioned earlier it's about not leaving the food unattended, ever. Just because one person has good habits and can sleep with their food, doesn't mean it's a good idea for you, unless you have the exact same rigorous habits that they have. Location also matters.
That was me, and I agree with you - in fact, in the original post, I said that more often than not I hang food rather than sleep with it, because it's too much of a hassle to bring it with me when I leave my campsite briefly. An after-dark arrival, when I'll have trouble spotting a suitable branch and even more trouble slinging my line over it, or a place that's really lacking in sutable trees, shifts the balance toward sleeping with food. So does having a hiking partner so that there's another human around and the stuff won't be unattended. Otherwise, it's less work to hang than to maintain food discipline in camp.
Being at a 'frontcountry' site also tips the balance toward hanging, simply because there is going to be more habituated wildlife. Not just bears, but also raccoons and porcupines. And mice, if I'm in or near a shelter.
It's also kind of a fun spectator sport. You can be known as the bear pinata idiot, or the one who nails it on the first try
I think the funniest hanging issue I ever had was one time that I slung the 'biner perfectly over the branch I wanted - which was even a few feet higher than my usual hang ... and then watched all fifty feet of line follow it without having the presence of mind to grab the dead end. And then, of course, it took me six more tries to get it over again. I should have just slept with my bag. I was on one of the Finch Pruyn easements in the Adirondacks, miles from anywhere, so there weren't going to be a lot of habituated critters around. But by then I was just too stubborn to let the tree defeat me.
It's a pleasant surprise to read about all the hikers that sleep with their food. Previously everyone was pro-PCT bear hanging. The essential trick is to never leave the food unattended, and using a Ursack avoids all the rodents and their relatives. During my 2011 AT thru-hike I never had a problem with bears, and just a couple of encounters with the little ones. I remember a chipmunk that was pretty daring, but I'm sure he remembers me spooking him better. Down in Georgia a bear came around and the three other hikers hung their food against my advice. After the bear got two of theirs food the third took my advice and retrieved his food. Unfortunately in the morning he discovered he had lost his food because he was unwilling to sleep with it. Not sure what happened to them afterwards as I didn't keep up with them but I would not be surprised if food hanging wasn't a big priority for them. I been sleeping with my food in the Smokies since the early '80 because I've seen way to many food hangs go wrong.
HooKooDooKu
10-28-2016, 14:47
I been sleeping with my food in the Smokies since the early '80 because I've seen way to many food hangs go wrong.
Sleeping with your food in GSMNP is illegal.
I generally agree with the positive comments made about sleeping with your food, but GSMNP is different from most of the AT:
1. You are only allowed to camp at designated sites.
2. There are a limited number of sites.
3. These sites are heavily used.
4. There is a large concentration of bears (currently estimated at around 1,600 in the park).
5. The bears know where these designated campsites are located, and they visit them.
I've been camping in GSMNP for over 20 years, and in all that time, the only stories I've heard/witnesses about bears getting food hung on the bear cables is from the rare bear that learns that if you bounce the cables, a bag simply hung over the hooks might bounce off. So the only addition that is needed to pretty much guarantee that you will defeat the bears is to use a carabiner or use some means of attaching your food bag to not only the hook, but the loop the hook hang from on the bear cables.
So the only thing left to figure out is how to deal with mice. Mice can climb the bear cables. But because of the number of people using the shelters, they have little fear of humans. So sleeping with your food by itself doesn't protect your food from the mice.
So all that said, I can find little excuse to NOT hang your food when in GSMNP.
If you have anything stinky in your tent - OP SACK BRO.
, the only stories I've heard/witnesses about bears getting food hung on the bear cables is from the rare bear that learns that if you bounce the cables, a bag simply hung over the hooks might bounce off
along with this------bears have learned that brightly colored objects---like packs and tents-----potentially could have food in them.....
hence, the incident at spence field earlier this year...
also---the shelters have "resident" bears that will hang around and if they see an unattended bag----they will grab it and run off...
Patman had this happen to him a few years ago and lost some of his gear as a result........
many of the shelter registers (logbooks) have stories about people having their packs "stolen" by a bear......
I don't suggest sleeping with food. I'd rather not be worried about that sort of thing when trying to sleep. I try to eat dinner about 2 miles or so (at a water source preferably, but not required) before I hit my end destination. This gives me the following benefits:
1. Food is prepared away from camp
2. Food is prepared in daylight
3. Food is all packed away properly
4. I have rest and energy for those last few miles (which are always a PITA)
5. When I get to camp I can relax, socialize, and build a fire if wanted.
6. If bear cables are there great, otherwise I tie my Ursack Major to a tree (Figure 8 Knot) a good distance from camp.
PabloAndreus
11-11-2016, 16:14
I am new to the site & plan to thru hike next year. It sounds like hanging the food is at least the best chance at minimising risk but nothing is 100%. Would anyone say it would be more dangerous to start my hike early..say in March? My reason for asking is with it being colder it may be the bears are hungrier as no fruit on the trees, there'll be less hikers or tourists so less food left around (the ones who don't follow precautions) and they might have just woken from hibernation & i don't fancy being it's first meal. Thanks for your help.
Rush,
My Ursack Major arrived yesterday. Lots of space as far as I can tell. Looking forward to using it out west next summer.
Wayne
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I used to hang, pretty hard with low pine trees..........that aside, yes, some of it is laziness but I sleep with food bag.
Agree with Jester 100%, everything smells like food......what we cannot smell they can.
To me the bigger issue is mice, skunks, etc.
NoChance
02-09-2017, 22:43
the 'bear biting' activity is posted on the ATC website. feel free to read it. ATC now recommends everyone on the AT uses a bear canister. Everyone. Everywhere. on the AT.
Why, because your previous AT hiking buddies are slobs and do not understand the meaning of 'hike it in, hike it out'.
Aggressive bear activity has become the norm.
Do not put food in your tent.
That is just friggin' stupid and ignorant.
I had a bear attack my tent. Not because there was food in it. Simply because it was a tent and recognized it as a possible food source.
Just saying'...
NoChance
02-09-2017, 22:49
my advice is to get ahead of the crowd. i made the mistake of hiking after the major crowd went thru the smoky mountains, and there were aggressive bears everywhere. multiple shelters were shut down, bears attacked tents (see my note below). i hiked alongside a section hiker who 'lived in the area', said he never saw a bear in the 20 years he had hiked. I hiked for 480 miles and saw 6 bears, and had one attack my tent. Always give yourself time to hang a bag. the ignorance, flippant and dismissive attitude of some of these posts is shocking to me. its possible the recent fires in the GSM may have possible reduced (killed) bear activity. All i know is, that i will never hike thru the Smoky's ever again.
Offshore
02-10-2017, 08:35
I'm all for sleeping with my food in areas that don't have bear problems, but why the heck would you do it in or near the smokies?
It seems that for some folks, being a contrarian is more important than acting in their own best interests.
bamboo bob
02-10-2017, 17:04
National parks have most of the problem bears. I think that's because bears in parks are not hunted so they don't have the same fear of people as hunted bears'
In any event, if I see a bear sign on the trail before I camp then I will hang my food bag. If not it's my pillow. Also in many places on many trails there are simply no suitable places to hang food.